Folding tent.



l. S. PURCELL.

FOLDING TENT.

APPLlcATloN mw JUNE 20,19l1.

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

13m 5. Rfcd/ l. S. PURCELL.

vFOLDING TENT.

APPucATloN FILED JUNE 2o. 1911.

1,285,793" Patented Nov. 26, 1918. K

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEToE.

ISAAC S. PURCELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO TENTOBED'COMPANY, 0FCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A' CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FOLDING TENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1ers.

Application filed `fune 20,1917; n Serial N o. 175,756.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it knownl that I, ISAAC S. PU'RCELL, citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, Illinois, have invented certain'newand usefulImprovements in Foldingl Tents; and

I do hereby declarethe following lto be ai full, clear, and exactdescriptionl ofthe invention, such as will enable others'skilled in theart to which it appertains tomake and use the same. l

My invention relates to folding tents, one

of its general objects being to provide'a tent carrying its own frameand requiring no poles, and one that can readily beY folded or rolled(with the bracing included) into an unusually compact space. Anotherobject is to provide a foldable tent'frame theelem'entsof which will bestraight when the frame is not erected, but in whichcertain'fra'me-elements will assume curves when thefra-me'is erected,thereby affording an unusually' handsome appearance to the tent and" undecidedly superior substitute fora so'lc'alled' pup tent. Moreover,my'ii'iven'tio'n'aimsI to provide simple means for securin'gthef framemembers to the tent, for preventing the frame-curvingv strainsfromdamaging the sockets for the latter, for limitingthe insertion of theframe members into the sockets, for connecting certain frame members to'each other while permitting the" readyerecting and compactingof 'thesame, and for tensioning theridge of' the tent.A

Still'further objects will appear' from' the' following specication andfrom the accompanying drawings', 1n which* I Y Y Figure 1 isaperspective view ofone ein-v bodiment of my invention, showing the'saine' as used in connection with a folding'cot;

Fig.y 2 is a transverse section through the tent or Fig. 1 along theline 2-*2 Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary inner View of an edgeportion of the slde of the tent of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of'thejointed" ends of each pair 'of theframe membersas rod members, -as for example by boring they appearwhen'the tent is erected.I l

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary end view'of tent portions, showing'partsfoffside and end-r railsy of the bed, and of one'of the frame vmembers.

Fig. 6 is a view taken at-right angles to rig. 5. l

Fig. 7 is a central vertical section through Fig-.16.

Fig. 8 is a transverse section through Fig. 3l i Fig. 9 isa perspectiveview of one of the three" sets/of frame members as used with a pup tentembodying my'inventi'on.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view showing another method ofslidablyconnecting the ribs with'fthev tent sides.

In my copending application, filed Oct. 7, 1916, as Serial No. 124,216,I have disclosed a tent suitable for use with a fold- 'ing' cot, thistent being-slipped over a skeleton frame composed of straight steelbars.

With such a construction, the frame andthe tent mustbe erectedseparately, and in practice' 'the' combination has lproven to beobjectionable in 'Y weight. Moreover, the acute angles between the framemembers and the bed-bottom permit the tent to follow the same angles,thereby practically wasting a considerable portionvof the width of thebedbottom alongeach edge of the latter. Mypresent invention aims toprovide a substitute for the construction just referred lto andone whichwill"simultaneously avoid the waste o'f-'sp'ac"e, -the'eXcessive weight,and the separate handling of the frame andof the tent. With this invview, I construct the frame'ofmy'p'resent tent in'pairs ofY pivota'llywconnected and normally straight members, each of which membersis'desii1- ably"m'ade'yofround spring steel. For ordinary sized tents,I? provide three such pairs ofmemb'ers (viz., yone for 'each' endof thetent and onev for; the middle) and'connect each vp'airfoperatively tothe tent by slipping eachmember'th'ereof through' a tube 'formed bysewing''a piece of canvas@ vertically tov the'inner faceof the tent asshown in Figs. 3 and '1 8. Each. of these tubes terminates somewhatbelowthe ridge' of the tent and somewhat" above the bed-bottom, thuspermitting'fboth the jointed and the free ends of the rod members 1 tobe exposed at the insideof'the tent. I then provide suitable socketsiforreceiving the free ends of the holes through the'sidevl rails 2A of thecot. However,'theseholes are not bored in direcent and normally straightmembers pivotally joined at their upper ends and diverge` ing from saidjoint at an acute angle to each other when in use, and spreader meansequipped at opposite ends with substantially parallel sockets forreceiving the lower ends of said members, whereby the angular adjoiningof the upper ends and the parallel socketing of the lower ends cooperatein bowing the said members.

4. A tent frame including a pair of normally straight members ofresilient material pivotally joined at their upper ends to afford apeak' formation, and a pair of sockets housing the lower ends of thesaid members, the said sockets being. directed respectively pastopposite sides of the pivotal junction of the said members and therebycompelling a bowing of the said members into substantially a Gothic archformation.

5. A tent frame as per claim 3, in combination with symmetricallydisposed means for limiting' the entrance of the lower ends of the saidmembers into the sockets and thereby effecting a symmetrical dispositionof the said members.

6. Tent frame elements as per claim l, in combination with a tent havingoppositely sloping portions equipped with tubular formations throughwhich the respective members extend and whereby the said members arecontinuously maintained within the folds of the tent when the latter isdismantled, thereby permitting the dismantled tent to be compacted withthe said frame g elements in their normal straight formation.

7. In combination, a tent equipped on each of two oppositely slopingsides with a plurality of tubular formations, normally straight tentribs of resilient material arranged in pairs pivotally joined at theirupper ends near the ridge of the tent and disposed withthe membersv ofeach pair eX- tending respectively through said tubular formations onthe opposite tent sides, a sup port for the tent,` and plural socketingmeans upon each side of the support for receiving the ends of the saidribs, the socketing means receiving the ends of each piv-v otally joinedpair of ribs being directed away from the pivotal junction of the ribsso as to compel a bowing of the ribs and the tent sides into a Gothicarch formation.

8. A tent support comprising a substan- ISAAC S. PURCELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. I

